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Thursday, 25 April 2013

A-Z Challenge - V is for Vienna

Join me on his A-Z journey intoASENSE OF PLACE where I reminiscence on places that are connected with my family history or are part of my own personal memories.V is for VIENNA- City of Dreams With my love of history and music, how could I fail to be captivated by this city - its palaces, architecture, statues, imperial legacies and culture - not forgetting its café and delicious "Kaffee and Kuchen""? You cannot help think that Austria may have got rid of its monarchy but its imperial past has been a great boon for today's tourism industry with frequent reminders of the long reigning Franz Josef (1830-1916), Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and his beautiful but sad and estranged wife Elizabeth (Sissi).

Statue of Franz Josef

In 1889 their son Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide in the hunting lodge at Mayerling in a tragedy shrouded in mystery and speculation. Nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand became heir to the throne, to be assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914. sparking in the web of European alliances the outbreak of the First World War which changed the political map of Europe for ever.

One of the many sights of Imperial Vienna

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Statue of Mozart

One of the many costumed city guides - catching on his information?

And the highlight of my visit - standing on the stage of the Vienna Opera House - not as a performer I hasten to add, but as part of a fascinating tour of this impressive building.

About Me

I have been interested in family history for years. It all began when I was allowed as a child to look through the old family photographs and memorabilia kept in a shoebox in the cupboard at my grandfather's house. That treat started me on a fascinating ancestral trail.